Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½

Corporate

Helping clients both large and small to grow and expand their business is our passion. This help comes at all stages of the business life cycle, from incorporation, incubation and start-up, through to development and expansion activities, right the way through to exit by way of trade sale or initial public offering and beyond.  We help business owners set up a structure with appropriate legal documents that will protect their hard work, assets and personal liability.

Business owners and directors are often so busy managing the daily operations that they neglect the crucial step of securing and protecting the future success of the business. Whether it is setting up a Shareholders' or Partnership Agreement, advising on buying or selling a business, joint ventures, corporate re-structuring, stock exchange listing requirements or governance arrangements, we have extensive experience in compliance advice and providing strategic input on dealings with regulators.

A major focus for business is Board and Director Duties, with increasing pressure from regulators and increased penalities. Understanding the obligations as a director or officer is imperative and managing Board meetings and AGMs requires comprehensive processes and documentation.  Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ has created Board and AGM Packs that meet the Company or Association obligations governed by the relevant legislation. 

We have a pragmatic and commercial approach with a view to ensuring that the desired outcome of our clients is paramount. We focus on informed legal and commercial judgment, flexible thinking and achieving good business outcomes.

Commercial

With experience across many industry sectors, the team provide our clients with business friendly, accessible lawyers with both technical expertise and a commercial approach. Our lawyers have both domestic and international experience and are adept at helping clients navigate the challenges of legal, jurisdictional and cultural issues.

We prepare a wide variety of quality commercial agreements to suit a range of client needs, including agreements for ‘business-as-usual’ needs, as well as tailored documents for complex or unique matters.

No matter what stage of the business lifecycle you're in, the team can help you navigate the governance requirements, Director responsibilties, partnership structures, supplier contracts, and the world of cyber security, data protection and privacy that threaten to comprimise businesses every day.

We assist in intellectual property protection, exploitation and licensing.

With the regulators watching businesses closely, and penalties for individuals and corporations being imposed for breaches, our team can advise on the regulatory environment and assist clients with their dealings with regulators.

As businesses embrace the global opportunities that technology enables,  Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ have noted specialist expertise in technology contracting and generally across the communications, media and technology industry sectors.

We offer our services to a wide range of clients, including corporate groups of all sizes, start-ups and entrepreneurs, vendors, customers, service providers, carriers, mobile operators, hosts, resellers, wholesalers and retailers, as well as other players in the market.

Our team structures, negotiates and executes a wide variety of corporate transactions, including M&A, financings, joint ventures, partnerships and collaborations. We also assist our clients with respect to regulatory issues, statutory and other legal obligations, compliance and governance.

We are skilled across a variety of technology platforms, distribution channels and paths to market. Our work consists of both business-as-usual commercial law, and complex contracting including procurement, maintenance and support, outsourcing, system implementations, support, managed services, supply, licensing and distribution arrangements.

Our team also includes leading cyber security and data privacy experts, who regularly advise on cyber security and data privacy breaches and notification obligations, as well as best practice privacy law compliance, policies, contracting and comprehensive cyber security and data privacy audits.  Our team work closely with businesses and utilise a seamless, multi-disciplinary approach to cover all aspects of cyber security, data breach and privacy, with legal experts in information technology, risk, intellectual property, cloud services, workplace relations, privacy and corporate laws.  We assist businesses with best practice protection, compliance and response, including investigation to implementation of incident response strategies, dealing with regulators and managing remedial obligations. 

When necessary, we take a pragmatic and commercial approach to dispute resolution, seeking commercially sensible outcomes for our clients, but always fighting to protect their interests and objectives.

The Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Intellectual Property lawyers have expertise in all fields of registered and unregistered rights, including copyright, trade marks and design rights.

We have advised clients across a range of industries, including information technology, entertainment, multinational wholesale and retail organisations, international software houses, manufacturing, importing and distribution. Our advice is commercial and strategic.

We understand that intellectual property is a core asset of business today. We assist clients to first develop and then protect and exploit their intellectual property assets. We have experience in the identification, registration and renewal of intellectual property rights and assist clients to prepare, review and negotiate agreements to license, sell and otherwise commercialise and protect intellectual property and confidential information.

We also assist clients to enforce their intellectual property rights against others, including by negotiation and by acting in court proceedings in relation to copyright and trade mark infringements, domain name recovery, passing-off and other disputes.

We offer focused advice on brand protection strategies, pre-registration strategies, and searches. Our team is experienced in providing evidence and persuasive representations to successfully support applications both domestically and internationally. We also lodge and contest oppositions to trade mark applications, and conduct actions to remove competing registrations.

Prevention is better than cure, and our team assists clients with intellectual property audits, preparing businesses for sale, the due diligence process, and ongoing intellectual property management.

Get Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ involved from the start, take up one of the product offerings and talk to us about:

• Brand guidance
• Protections
• Enforcement

We deliver expert legal advice and assistance with commercial property transactions Australia-wide and understand how to deliver comprehensive and relevant advice in a broad range of property transactions, including:

• commercial, retail and industrial leasing
• sales and acquisitions of commercial property
• commercial conveyancing
• owners corporation and strata law
• the creation of interests in land
• land development
• environmental and planning matters
• property due diligence
• property financing
• the property related components of insolvency
• the regulatory environment around interests in or dealings with property and
• estate and business succession planning.

The Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Competition and Consumer Law team advises clients on all aspects of how they conduct their business with consumers and how they engage with other businesses in Australia.

Our experts can assist clients in all areas of competition and consumer law, including:

• advising on the Australian Consumer Law and the statutory guarantees that apply to goods and services that you may supply, or may have purchased. This includes assisting with any product safety issues you may have along with manufacturer’s liability;
• preparing robust Terms and Conditions for the supply of goods and services - compliant with the relevant consumer laws and which protect your business’ interests;
• reviewing Terms and Conditions for the supply of goods and services to advise you on your rights as a consumer;
• preparing advice to assist directors, management teams and sales and marketing teams to comply with Competition Laws dealing with pricing, exclusive arrangements, advertising and related issues.
• providing training and presentations which educate you on the Competition and Consumer laws that apply to your business; and
• assisting with all ACCC dealings - whether that be the preparation of notifications and authorisation from  ACCC for certain arrangements (such as exclusive dealing arrangements), or assisting your business if you are the subject of an ACCC investigation.

We take a commercial approach to the delivery of our services and, with experience advising clients in a wide range of industry sectors, our Competition and Consumer Law team understands how to produce industry-relevant advice with a client-focus and individualised outlook.

With extensive experience in all areas of corporate structuring, asset protection, business succession planning and personal estate planning, we assist clients in relation to a wide range of complex and sensitive issues, including:

• asset protection and business structuring
• trusts and trust administration
• corporate formations and restructurings
• preparation of shareholders’ and unit holders’ agreements and partnership agreements
• business succession planning including buy-sell agreements, inter-generational transition and management buy-outs
• family agreements that provide a clear framework for the operation and management of family businesses, facilitate family participation and provide a clear succession path
• family wealth protection including family and related-entity loan and security documentation
• superannuation
• estate planning including Wills and complex testamentary trusts, protective trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries and charitable trusts
• powers of attorney and appointments of enduring guardians
• estate administration including obtaining Grants of Probate and Letters of Administratio
• trusts and estate litigation including family provision and contested estate claims
• charitable trusts and foundations.

We work closely with our clients’ accounting and financial advisors to provide tailored and practical legal advice that is tax-effective and takes into account each client's unique personal situation and family dynamic especially including blended family situations. We understand the emotional interplay when dealing with a client’s personal affairs and approach each matter with sensitivity and understanding.